Humidifier

ABSTRACT

In a humidifier with a motor-powered fan driving an airstream through a saturated water pad to humidify the air, the improvement of a water distribution pan for providing a uniform, metered flow of water to the water pad. The water distribution pan includes a number of apertures in the bottom with a channel leading from each aperture to a reservoir at one end of the pan. The reservoir is defined by the sidewalls of the pan and a dam in the pan between the sidewalls. Water spills over the dam, flows through the channels and drains out through the apertures. Ridges are provided around the apertures on both sides of the pan bottom to insure uniform distribution of the water.

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HUMIDIFIIER BACKGROUND F THE INVENTION This invention relates to theimprovement of a water distribution pan for a humidifier of the typehaving an air flow directed through a water-saturated pad.

Health authorities have long recognized the advisability of maintainingthe indoor relative humidity between 30 and 45 percent. The problem ofmaintaining such a relative humidity is especially difficult during thewinter months when the air is uniformly quite dry. In an effort toprovide a healthful and proper amount of moisture in the air,humidifiers of various types and designs are used. ln type of humidifiera motorpowered fan drives furnace heated air through a saturated `waterpad. Such a humidifier may be positioned in an existing warm air -ductto properly humidify heated air flowing therethrough.

To promote the efficient operation of this type of humidifier, the watershould be evenly distributed in the water pad, and the water pad shouldbe saturated by'a proper amount of water. The water distribution pan ofthe present invention provides a novel and useful manner in which toaccomplish these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In'a principal aspect the present invention ofthe improvement of a water distribution pan for a humidifier providesmore efficient, more effective and more even distribution of water to awater pad positioned under the pan transverse to the flow of air beinghumidified. The improved water distribution pan includes a plurality ofuniformly spaced apertures in the pan bottom through which water passesonto the water padA channel leads from each of the apertures to areservoir at one `end of the pan. The reservoir is formed from thesidewalls of the pan and a dam which extends between the sidewalls.Water flows into the reservoir and spills over the dam into thechannels. In this manner the water is evenly divided and passesuniformly to each of the apertures.

It is vthus an object of this invention to provide an improved waterdistribution pan that more uniformly distributes water on a`water pad ina blower-powered humidifier.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedhumidifier water distribution pan that provides maximum'amount ofefficiency for a minimum cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a means forevenly distributing water through the water pad of a blower-poweredhumidifier regardless of small variations in the positioning or mountingof the humidifier.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be more fully set forth in the detailed .descriptionwhich follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

In the detailed description which follows, reference will be made to thedrawings comprised of the following FIGS.

FIG. l is a perspective view of a typical blower-powered humidifierincluding the improvement of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the improvement of the water distributionpan of the present invention;

FIG. 3'is a side cross-sectional view of the pan taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an aperture takensubstantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. ll illustrates, in aperspective view, a typical blowerpowered humidifier of the type thatwould utilize the present invention. The components which comprise thehumidifier are mounted on an outside frame which is adapted to matewitha cover l2 to provide an airtight assembly for the remainingcomponents of' the humidifier. An inside frame I4 is positioned bymeansof brackets, such as at I6, in a fixed relation within the outside framel0. This provides a substantially annular space between the outside andinside frames l0 and 14 through which air may be drawn prior tohumidification.

An electric motor 18 is suitably mounted on the inside frame 14 by meansos braces, such as as 20, to drive afan 22 in the opening provided inthe inside frame 14. A water pad 24 is mounted in suitable channelsprovided by the inside frame 14 so that the water pad 24 is transverseto the airflow directed by the fan 22. The water pad 24 is tightlysealed within the inside frame I4. It may be slidably removed forreplacement or the like by removing sliding cover 26 and pulling onhandle 28 to withdraw water pad 24 from the frame 14. Another slidingcover corresponding to cover 26 is positioned on the opposite side ofthe humidifier so that the water pad 24 may be withdrawn from eitherside of the humidifier.

Affixed by suitable fastening means such as biased side members to thetop of the inside frame directly over the water pad 24 is theimprovement of the present invention; namely, the water distribution pan3,0. Water is provided to the pan 30 through the conduit 32. The supplyof water is controlled by the valve 34 which in turn has a connection toan external supply of water (not shown).

In operation the humidifier is attached to the side of a plenum or ductand warm dry air is drawn by the fan 22, through the annular spaceprovided between the frames l0 `and 14 and then out through the waterpad 24. The humidified air is finally directed back into the plenum orair duct. The air pathway is indicated by the arrows in FIG. l.

The improvement of the invention is the water distribution pan 30 whichis more fully illustrated by FIGS. '2, 3.and 4. As can be seen byreference to these figures, the pan includes a Vbottom 36 and sidewalls38 through 43. At one end of the pan 30 the sidewalls 40, 4l and 42 anda dam 46 which extends between sidewalls 42 and 40 define a reservoir48. An indentaton 50 in sidewall 40 is provided for the conduit 32 whichprovides a water supply for the reservoir 48.

Defined in a substantially ordered pattern along the bottom 36 of thepan 30 are three apertures 52, 54 and 56. The apertures 52, S4 and 56extend entirely through the bottom 36 and provide a path of distributionfor water onto the water pad 24. Each aperture 52, S4 and 56 iscircumferentially surrounded by an outer wall as at 58, 6l) and 62,respectively, spaced a small distance from the aperture 52, 54 or 56.The outer walls 58, 60 and 62 encircle the respective apertures andcontinue as parallel walls to form channels 64, 66 and 68 respectively.The channels 64, 66 and 68 lead from the respective apertures 52, 54 and56 to the reservoir 48. Thus outside wall 42 and inside walls 70, 71 and72 combine in pairs to form the three channels 64, 66 and 68.

While walls 42 and 72 are continuous and meet with the sidewalls vof thereservoir 48, the remaining walls 70 and v7 1 are discontinuous andterminate at a point short of the dam 46 of the reservoir 48. Walls 70and 7l terminate with water dividers 73 and 74 respectively. Dividers 73and 74 are short wall segments, perpendicular to walls 70 and 7l,respectively, which restrict the entrance to channels 64, 66 and 68.This particular construction of the water dividers 73 and 74 promotes aneven distribution of the water spilling over the dam 46 regardless ofsmall tilts or inclinations of the entire humidifier device or the pan30. The water dividers 73 and 74 are parallel to the dam 46 and arespaced a small distance from the dam 46 to also insure that water willflow into all three channels 64, 66 and 68 regardless of slightinclinations in the pan.

Referring again to the construction of the aperture 52, 54 and 56,circumferential ridges 76, 77 and 78, respectively, are

included on the inside, bottom 36 of the pan 30. Each of the insideridges 76, 77 and 78 include a notch as at 85 in FIGS. 3 and 4 foraperture 52, and notches 86 and 87 for apertures 54 and 56 respectively.The notches 85, 86 and 87 extend from the top of the ridges 76, 77 and78 respectively to the inside of the bottom 36 of pan 30. Because ofcohesive forces between the water and inside ridges 76, 77 and 78, it isnecessary for the water to fill the channels to a depth approximatelyequal to the height of the ridges 76, 77 or 78 before the water willflowl through the notches 85, 86 or 87 and out through the respectiveapertures 52, 54 or S6. This feature promotes an even distribution ofwater on the water pad 24.

Circumferential ridges 80, 8l and 82 are also included on the outside,bottom 36 of pan 30 for apertures 52, 54 and 56 respectively. Theoutside ridges 80, 81 and 82 insure that water which passes through therespective openings 52, 54 and 56 will drop onto the water pad 24.Without the special ridges 80, 81 and 82 drops of water would merelycollect and run along the bottom of the pan before dropping off onto thewater pad 24. The ridges 80, 81 and 82 prevent the water from runningalong the underside of the pan and insure quick, even distribution ofwater on the water pad. Transverse ribs 90-94 may be added to theunderside of pan 30 to provide added protection against water clingingto the bottom of the pan and being carried toward the ends by random aircurrents.

It will be noted that the bottom 36 is inclined downwardly in thedirection of desired waterflow in the distribution pan 30. Thus, thechannels 64, 66 and 68 in combination with the ridges 80, 81 and 82 andthe other parts of the pan 30 described above, insure that water will beevenly divided and flow in the direction of incline of the bottom 36,yet will not go through apertures 52, 54 and 56 to run along the bottom36 of the pan in the direction of incline. Rather the waterdropsdirectly onto the pad 24.

Therefore, the combination of reservoir, channels, apertures and ridgesinsures a waterflow onto the water pad at the proper places, at aconstant rate of flow and with uniform distribution. ln contrast, waterin prior art devices would flow at uneven rates onto different parts ofthe water pad, and would run along the bottom of the pan and down thesides of the water pad or onto other parts of the frame to disrupt theefficiency of the humidifier. The present invention eliminates theseproblems in an inexpensive and efficient manner.

While in the foregoing there has been set forth a detailed descriptionof the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that all thoseembodiments obvious to persons skilled in the art and all thoseembodiments equivalent to the claimed subject matter are to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. ln a humidifier of the type including a frame, a motorpowered blowerattached to said frame for drawing an airflow through said humidifierover a water pad mounted transverse to the path of said airflow, theimprovement of water distribution means disposed above said pad forproviding a uniformly distributed flow of water to said pad, saiddistribution means comprising a pan having a bottom, first and secondends and sidewalls, with said bottom being inclined at an angle withrespect to the horizontal such that said bottom is higher at said firstend than at said second end; a water reservoir positioned at said firstend of said pan, said reservoir adapted to be connected to a source ofwater to provide a constant water supply in said reservoir, saidreservoir being defined by the sidewalls of said pan, and a damextending between said sidewalls over which water in said reservoirspills to flow to the remaining portion of said pan, said pan alsoincluding a plurality of apertures which are disposed at regularlyspaced intervals in said bottom in said remaining portion of said panand which pass through the bottom of said pan so as to permit water toflow through said apertures and onto said pad; means defining aplurality of water channels in said pan, each of said means whichdefines a water channel extending from each of said apertures toadjacent said dam, each of said means defining said water channelsincluding a circumferential wall section which encircles said apertureto which it extends and which is spaced from said aperture; and wallmeans positioned about each of said apertures for preventing flowthrough said aperture until the portion of the water channels meansbetween said wall means and the said circumferential wall section isfilled with water to a depth equal to the height of the wall means.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein each of said channels terminatesat a point short of said dam, said channel termination points includingwater dividers defining means including wall segments positioned topromote even distribution of said water in each channel.

3. The improvement of claim l wherein said wall means includes acircumferential ridge surrounding said apertures on both sides of saidbottom, each of those ridges positioned on the inside of said panincluding at least one notch through said ridge; and those ridgessurrounding said apertures on the outside of said pan assist in causingthe water flowing through said apertures to drop directly onto said padand in preventing the water flowing through said apertures from runningalong the underside of said pan.

4. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said means including wall segmentsare positioned perpendicular to said means defining said water channels.

1. In a humidifier of the type including a frame, a motorpowered blowerattached to said frame for drawing an airflow through said humidifierovEr a water pad mounted transverse to the path of said airflow, theimprovement of water distribution means disposed above said pad forproviding a uniformly distributed flow of water to said pad, saiddistribution means comprising a pan having a bottom, first and secondends and sidewalls, with said bottom being inclined at an angle withrespect to the horizontal such that said bottom is higher at said firstend than at said second end; a water reservoir positioned at said firstend of said pan, said reservoir adapted to be connected to a source ofwater to provide a constant water supply in said reservoir, saidreservoir being defined by the sidewalls of said pan, and a damextending between said sidewalls over which water in said reservoirspills to flow to the remaining portion of said pan, said pan alsoincluding a plurality of apertures which are disposed at regularlyspaced intervals in said bottom in said remaining portion of said panand which pass through the bottom of said pan so as to permit water toflow through said apertures and onto said pad; means defining aplurality of water channels in said pan, each of said means whichdefines a water channel extending from each of said apertures toadjacent said dam, each of said means defining said water channelsincluding a circumferential wall section which encircles said apertureto which it extends and which is spaced from said aperture; and wallmeans positioned about each of said apertures for preventing flowthrough said aperture until the portion of the water channels meansbetween said wall means and the said circumferential wall section isfilled with water to a depth equal to the height of the wall means. 2.The improvement of claim 1 wherein each of said channels terminates at apoint short of said dam, said channel termination points including waterdividers defining means including wall segments positioned to promoteeven distribution of said water in each channel.
 3. The improvement ofclaim 1 wherein said wall means includes a circumferential ridgesurrounding said apertures on both sides of said bottom, each of thoseridges positioned on the inside of said pan including at least one notchthrough said ridge; and those ridges surrounding said apertures on theoutside of said pan assist in causing the water flowing through saidapertures to drop directly onto said pad and in preventing the waterflowing through said apertures from running along the underside of saidpan.
 4. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said means including wallsegments are positioned perpendicular to said means defining said waterchannels.